Nankichi NIIMI新美南吉Born: July 30, 1913 (Handa City, Aichi, Japan)Died: March 22, 1943 (Handa City)Poet and author of fantasy/children's literature. Taught English, Japanese and agriculture at Anjo Girls High School.Major Works: Gon the Fox, Buying Mittens, Grandpa's Lamp, When the Thieves Came to Hananoki, The Fart etc.

Nankichi Niimi was born Shohachi Watanabe in what is now Handa City, Aichi Prefecture, on July 30, 1913, with the year 2013 marking 100 years since his birth. Gon the Fox is studied by every Japanese child in elementary school and it was recently estimated that over 60 million people have read this story, which he wrote at just 18 years of age. Although Niimi went on to write a large number of poems and short stories, such as Buying Mittens, Grandpa's Lamp and When the Thieves Came to Hananoki Village before his death from tuberculosis at age 29, Gon the Fox is undoubtedly the most famous and well-loved of all his works, and perhaps the most famous Japanese children's story of all time.